1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to information display devices and, more particularly, to a beer tap or beer tower arrangement which incorporates a customizable display system with multi-media output means into a display portion incorporating an information display carrier and a visual display means.
2. Description of the Related Art
Visual display means are fairly well know in the art, the most typical of which is the electronic display board which is supplied by an external processor with data and which displays the data in a scrolling manner across the display face of the board. Such display boards are typically found in bars and other type establishments and are useful in relating such information as sporting event scores and other news.
The primary disadvantage of such display means involves their relatively large size which makes difficult optimal location of the display board for viewing by the patrons of the establishment. An additional disadvantage of these display means is that they are usually hooked into an external processor control and supply means such that the information they display is not controlled by the establishment and, consequently, food and beverage specials of the establishment cannot be displayed.
An example of a computerized beer dispensing system which includes a tap display is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,641, issued to Turner. The primary objective of Turner is to disclose a dispensing system which tracks variables of draft beer dispensings, such as accounting, inventory control, price variations and time periods associated with price variations. An additional feature taught by Turner is the annunciating of public relation type messages and this is provided in part by front and rear displays located on associated front and rear faces of a dispenser housing, from which also extends a dispensing tap. The displays are identified as being of vacuum fluorescent construction and are capable of displaying all the programmed functions relating to the variables of the beer dispensing system. Turner also teaches that the displays present additional programmed messages including beer advertisements and other location operator programmed announcements during default of the primary programming functions. According to this feature, an operator can select the content and time duration of standard or customized computer generated messages which are displayed at desired intervals and are stored in a message queue.
While teaching an interesting secondary display feature of a beer dispensing tap which is otherwise primarily directed to dispensing and accounting functions, the advertising display aspect of Turner suffers from the shortcoming that the output is limited to a flashing or scrolling written message presented across the display faces. Turner does not appear to be either intended or suited for providing advertising and entertainment display, particularly of a multi-media nature, in which both audio and visual design aspects are used selectively in combination with printed messages. The advantage of such multi-media outputs is to provide a more discernable and sophisticated audio/visual presentation for a beer tap dispensing assembly than that which is currently afforded by the prior art.